Slashdot Mirror

1. The National Biodiesel Board explicitly says that its production capacity is only 150 million gallons per year, with another 200 million potential. At the limit this is less than 1% of road-diesel consumption and about 0.6% of total distillate fuel consumption.

2. US production of soybeans in 2004 was 3.15 billion bushels. At a yield of 11.5 pounds per bushel and a guesstimated 7 pounds/gallon, the entire US soybean crop would produce 5.18 billion gallons of soybean oil. You would need roughly 7 times as much production to replace all over-the-road diesel and 12 times as much to replace all distillate fuel oil consumption; I'm not going to waste the time to calculate what it would take to replace motor gasoline (that's your homework, and you're flunking).

   Total US acreage of soybeans harvested in 2004 was roughly 74 million acres, or 116,000 square miles. 12 times this is about 1.4 million square miles. Total area of the USA is 3.5 million square miles, so you are talking about planting another 40% of the land area of the USA in soybeans (over and above the area already used for other crops) just to replace distillate fuel oil use.

You seem perfectly capable of looking up your own reference materials.

Here's the clues you need:

biodiesel.org Though they are just a front for the SoyBean farmers association but plenty of resources for you to check out.

Central Intelligence Agency These guys have all sorts of info about agricultural output in USA and other nations.

Wired Magazine Do a search on biodiesel to verify the quotation.

Search Google News for Biodiesel Now click on the little News Alerts icon and subscribe to that search... you'll get all the news on biodiesel that's fit to publish as a current event and learn about how many organizations in US and around world are in fact mongin forward with serious biodiesel plans. Tell you what, there are a whole hell of a lot more actual implementations happening that for any other alternative fuel... happening now.

FYI reality is "socially constructed". Public opinion will wish oilseed crops into existence.. much like it wished electricity infrastructure into existence, wished a global communications system into existence... it's called Supply and Demand.. yeah I know it's just a theory and all but the basic idea is that when enough people want something to happen a Demand is created, which in turn prompts a Supply to come into existence through the efforts of entrepeneurs and business interests who seek to satisfy that Demand.

Technically it is already done. Refining apparatus that is reasonably efficient, and only needs economies of scale to become sufficiently efficient, is in use. New improvements are being researched and tested as we speak..

Energetically biodiesel contains as much or more available energy for combustion than petrol diesel. The plants used for oilseed require minimal energy input from people.. plant and grow.. that's why they love plants like soybeans even though they produce less oil than some alternatives like Castor plants which require more human intervention. On the other hand.. if the price is right the best plant for the job will be planted.

Ecologically... ;-p so you'd prefer the alternative? Which one? You can't take energy out of a system without impacting it. Use solar power and you're cooling off the atmosphere and pulling solar radiation out of the ecology. Use hydro and you're pulling the energy out of the water cycle... screwing with weather patterns by creating new evaporation points, etc. Use tidal power and you mess with ocean currents and tidal changes that maintain coastal ecologies... Hydrogen power has to come from somewhere, it's just a storage medium.. not a source of power.. so think coal, nuclear, etc. Biodiesel looks to have the least impact... carbon is grown, carbon is burned, carbon returns to the ecosystem, carbon is resequesterd through absorption of CO2 by plants... the same plants that are grown for the next generation of fuel.

Heres a great link for info about that from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Socially it's a slam dunk. Reduced dependence on cartel producers. Environmentally benign compared to current fuels. Renewable resource that provides jobs. It can use the already available infrastructure with zero change and is usable in available vehicles with zero change. Take a look at the initiatives already happening across the nation and the positive reaction coming from every single one.. then look at what's happening in India, Maylasia, and on and on.

use the suns fusion to grow biodiesel. A lot cheaper and it will clean the atmosphere. My understanding is that all carbon in plant is extracted from the atmosphere. Extracting the oil leaves carbon waste, so even dirty engines cannot put more carbon back into air then was extracted.
Although we may end up with oxygen pollution :)
biodiesel home page

Yes, but that can change, and electricity can be produced from alternatives, giving hydrogen fuel from "green" electricity. Try doing something similar with oil-based fuel. Not as easy.

Actually, it is.

They could run on it now! Most of Europe has B20 diesel which has 20% Bio, 80% Petro diesel. Kind of like in the United States a lot of gas is 10% ethanol.

While this doesn't do a lot to reduce emissions right away, it is renewable at least and all diesel engines can run on B100. After that push to require diesel engines to run on straight vegetable oil, which is a much cleaner, renewable source.

Eventually we could think about moving to hydrogen as well.

And I think we should heavily consider Wind and Sun. If every new house built had supplemental Solar Power it could greatly reduce our need for power over the long haul. I know California had some new regulation requiring solar power on a percentage of new houses and over 10 years it would be equivalent to building a couple medium to large coal plants in the state, although I don't remember the GWh totals.

Run it on Biodiesel.

I doubt it. The Germans did this in the 1930's, and it was pretty expensive.

Was. Isn't.

According to the DOE and biodiesel.org, your state sucks. :P

Most likely there are multiple sources in NYC, but 20 minutes of googling couldn't find them. You should post a request for location info on the biodieselnow.com forums for NY/NJ. That will get you in touch with local enthusiasts who can point you on to a co-op or new stations that haven't made it to the typically slow-to-update biodiesel.org and DOE's site.

PS: yes, I know that if you can't buy b20 (much less b100) it makes my "pro" arguments for biodiesel bunk. However, if you're passionate about being good, you're welcome to go make some biodiesel yourself. It ain't hard to make a five gallon batch - the info is out there. That's another post, though.

...The machine, called Springtail, can hit speeds up to 90 miles an hour, and its 10-gallon tank of diesel fuel is good for 2.25 hours of flight. Just use biodiesel. http://www.biodiesel.org/

I am posting this comment from the back of a volkswagon ...


That's great, but is the volkswagon running on biodiesel?

There are actually a couple of other alternatives as well.

1. There's BioDiesel - which has vastly lower particulate and CO2 emmisions. It's also often produced from waste vegtable oil, is non-toxic, and domestically produced.

2. There's a system known as "Multi-Fuel" which injects an additive to improve combusion. Usually this is something like Liquid Propane or LNG. This reduces emmision by fostering more complete combustion of the base fuel.

A year ago I finally got to see one of these face to face just in time to hear the owner say "Did you know the company just went out of business 2 days ago ?". What a bummer !
So now its back and I'm not sure I want one anymore...
These days I'm thinking more about converting an old car for vegetable oil or using biodiesel

Since I have been reasearching biodiesel heavily for a while I'll put in my 2 cents worth.

Putting anything but B20 (1 part biodiesel to 4 parts petroleum diesel) in your car will probably violate the warranty. The advantage of biodiesel isn't just that it's renewable, it also adds lubricity and reduces pollution. See http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/biodiesel_basic s/ for more info.

Anyone that makes biodiesel in their backyard is going to violate their car warranty for sure. Making something that works and making something that isn't going to have long-term negative effects on your car are two different things. One of the by-products of making biodiesel is glycerin. If you don't make the biodiesel just right, the glycerin wont be usable for much and needs to be disposed of. See this excellent article for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a niche product that helps reduce pollution and dependence on foreign oil. It also can be used in the remediation of petroleum spills and probably has other, undiscovered uses. It is not going to eliminate our dependence on petroleum.

They love biodiesel. Looking at biodiesel production around the world, U.S. biodiesel has one of the least efficient lifecycles: 3.2 units of energy are harvested for each unit used to farm and process the fuel. In Europe, the biodiesel from rapeseed results in a better energy balance of 4.3:1. Corn ethanol, at about 1.2:1 can barely turn an energy profit in comparison.

This means that current biodiesel production acts as a very effective solar energy-collector. Even so, the future of biodiesel (and ethanol) is in different crops like mustardseed, microalgae, and switchgrass.

You can get more info here.

Changing World Technologies is the company behind the "turkey guts" thermal depolymerization (TDP) plant in Carthage, MO, USA.

Running some back of the envelope calculations shows some interesting figures. First establish what we use today. In 2002, the United States used an estimated 19.7 million barrels. Per day.

A plant of this size produces 180,000 barrels of oil per year; it is claimed that this is over and above the energy it uses. That works out to 493.15 barrels per day out of 200 tons each day. There are 160 million tons of wood waste per year (1998 figures) alone. That works out to 1,080,876 barrels per day if we assume the same conversion rate of 200 tons of organic matter to 493.15 barrels per day. 5.4% of our daily total oil demand from wood waste alone. Enough to affect prices at the margin, where it counts. At current rates, we will import 68% of our oil by 2025. This same reference cites DOE figures that say we currently import about 50%, or about 10 million barrels. If we put this in place today, the percentage of imports this represents rises to 10.8%.

Pulling our focus back a bit, we find that agriculture produces about 1 billion tons of waste per year. Remember, agricultural waste streams are not the only feedstock; some manufacturing waste streams are also eligible. But for the sake of back of the envelope calculations, let's assume that all eligible waste streams for TDP amounts to 1 billion tons per year. That works out to 6,755,479 barrels per day, or about 67% of daily import demand today.

Even if we project out increased demand for petroleum in the future, the potential for this technique to affect prices at the margin should not be dismissed out of hand. It is highly unlikely that we can use this technique (assuming all the engineering, business and logistical details are worked out --- the reaction chambers need to be calibrated for the feedstock, and they don't have many "recipes" worked out yet, and don't even know what is or is not feasible) to supplant import demand. Fortunately, we don't need it to wholesale replace imports: if we can make it affect the marginal price, that's still a useful tool in our national assets.

If the Changing World folks really are on the up and up, and they produce a small net of oil from these big brother versions of the pilot plant, then this is a strong piece of evidence for the school of thought who contend that market mechanisms will produce solutions as the need arises. As others in this thread have already pointed out, we certainly have nowhere approached the theoretical physics-imposed limits of available energy that can be gathered from the sun.

Of course, it's up to you whether you choose to accept this study.

Yeah, I was looking at saving money to buy a TDI Golf before my job disappeared. I'm a bit concerned about getting one here in the U.S. where the fuel is chock full o' sulfur, but I've been hoping to see biodiesel expand (I'm still shocked that it's unavailable here in Minneapolis, though there are a number of filling stations in the western part of Minnesota according to biodiesel.org).

For the moment, I'm still driving an old '88 Chevy Cavalier. Even with it's heavy automatic transmission, it still gets 30 mpg or so. Then again, I often can't accelerate worth a damn, but being able to just keep up with Twin Cities traffic is good enough.

Still, I think the people who are complaining about low mileage in their hybrids are probably not driving the cars properly (slamming on the brakes rather than allowing the regenerative systems do their magic, accelerating too rapidly, etc.) Also, even in the TDI world, it has been noted that some cars just don't get the mileage they're supposed to get. It might be something messed up in the engine or transmission, who knows.. Even after being popular for 100 years, cars are still a mystery to us all ;-)

It looks like these cars are more hype than help in the battle against pollution and foreign fuel reliance.

If these results are accurate, then this is true, and it's quite sad. What I don't understand is why we aren't promoting Diesel engines more often.

For example, a VW Jetta TDI gets 50+ MPG on the highway. Unlike the Prius or the Civic Hybrid, diesel engines are cheap, highly reliable, have low maintenance costs, and can easily run on BioDiesel without a performance loss. Even with BioDiesel and Petroleum blends, you're still talking very little pollution in comparison to a similar unleaded gasoline engine. A full tank on a TDI will get you almost 800 miles before you need a refill.

So why as a society (I'm referring to the US here, the EU is very much ahead of us with biodiesel) don't we promote this more often? Let's reduce our foreign oil dependence, and not have a need to drill ANWR. Use Diesel & Biodiesel!

An interesting alternative fuel is biodiesel:

- We can make it in the US

- Runs in existing diesel engines

- Almost all emissions reduced vs. dinodiesel

(for NOx there are some interesting additives
being produced).

- Much less toxic/dangerous than dinodiesel/gasoline

- Exhaust smells like french fries!

How does your biodiesel get made?

In the USA, it currently is made using excess (waste) virgin soybean oil, since that is the cheapest biomass available. However, it can be made using almost any vegetable oil. In fact, Rudolph Diesel's first engine was powered using peanut oil. Biodiesel can also be made using just about any biomass. For mass production of biodiesel, algae is believed to the best option.

What fuels its production?

Biodiesel fuels itself, since it has a positive energy balance. Some of the biodiesel that is output from the refining process is fed into heaters/burners and electric generators.

How does it get to your gas tank?

A pump. You can buy biodiesel at retail pumps.

How much energy is involved, and where does it come from?

A lot. Our friend, the almighty sun.

Actually all the equipment you mentioned can be run NOW with biodiesel Biodiesel.org which is produced from oils from corn, soy, etc... even used cooking oil can be used - I use it in my diesel VW with no problem.

This assumes that we are using current techniques to farm the corn and ferment and distill it. If the farm machinery can use biodiesel instead of fossil diesel then that part is taken out. If the the still can be heated using solar heating (direct solar heating, not using inefficient solar cells), some use of wind, etc. then it may be possible to make the equation go positive for us.

As long as the input is fossil fuels or ethanol or hydrogen (perpetual motion machine, anyone?), efficiency means we'll come out behind. As plants learned long ago, you need outside input of power for it to be worthwhile which is why some researchers are looking at bacterial catylists among other things to split out the hydrogen from water. Plants left hydrogen behind a long time ago so perhaps we're going down a dead end.

Biodiesel
Alcohol fuels
Biomass
Thermal Depolymerization

All viable ways to "grow" sources of energy...

...and maybe if we give the farmers something useful to grow (Energy crops), we won't have to pay them to not grow anything (ween them off subsidies - Nearly $75 billion spent last year in the US alone to keep farmers employed because there isn't a market for the stuff they grow). May as well earn their money growing sometihng useful!

Not like the market for energy is going to be going anywhere anytime soon, and this might just put the US back-in-black in terms of energy production vs. usage. With the USA's crop production capacity we might even be able to generate a surplus and export it...
=Smidge=

Hopefully something will, though.

I'm surprised that this article didn't mention biodiesel, which is starting to take hold. Unlike hydrogen, biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, and can be used to power any diesel engine. It's still somewhat expensive, but it can be easily mixed with conventional diesel, to get to various price levels. In fact, the US government currently offers tax breaks for biodiesel use. It has a lot of promise, and already sells for as little as $2/gallon in the US -- a price which would surely go down as a better production infrastructure comes into place.

More info here.

Hopefully something will, though.

I'm surprised that this article didn't mention biodiesel, which is starting to take hold. Unlike hydrogen, biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, and can be used to power any diesel engine. It's still somewhat expensive, but it can be easily mixed with conventional diesel, to get to various price levels. In fact, the US government currently offers tax breaks for biodiesel use. It has a lot of promise, and already sells for as little as $2/gallon in the US -- a price which would surely go down as a better production infrastructure comes into place.

More info here.

Which is why we should look into using it as fuel instead of essentially wasting it.

Screw that 'hydrogen economy' crap. The US is already capable of growing most, if not all, of the energy it needs. And I bet a little more chemical engineering will show that vegetable oils can make a very suitable replacement for petroleum oils in almost every application.

Probably put a lot of people to work state-side, too.

If you ever need fodder for a conspiracy theory, this is a good choice...
=Smidge=

All this makes more sense than GWB's hydrogen economy, which needs electricity to make the hydrogen. As electricity generation is about 30% efficient, there's not much point in using biomass to produce hydrogen for fuel cells - you might as well stick biodiesel straight in the car.

And don't forget those biodiesel vehicles. How many miles to the next fast-food place with a deep frier?

Driving in the Yukon this summer in a 92 Suzuki Sidekick. I did 600K on a tank of gas (10 imp. gallon tank.) I put a bit campstove fuel in at the end to make it another 20K to a gas station. Gas is $1/L way up north, the gas stations are few and far (really far) between and sometimes not open on Sunday. (Go get dude, yeah, dude has the key to the pump, oh no dude's gone fishing, oh forget it.)

1 km = 0.621 miles
1.609 Kilometrs (km) = 1 mile

1 L = 0.264 US gal
US gallons(US gal) = 3.785 Litres

1 imp gal = 0.833 US gal
Imperial gallons(Imp gal) 1.201 = US gallons

CDN $1 = 75 US cents

<rant> i remember your duelly elected president George w Bush (who I nhumbly support in his war for, I mean against, no wait you are either for or against, wait, no, we are against terrorism and for the war which somehow equates to peace, something like that, I'll have to switch on those informative us tv news channels to get it straight again with those live action hero figures and cards and such, ooh and oh so cool techy-military stuff) announced that the big 3 car companies would have the fuel efficiency technology available in about 4 years. Translation: we won't be havin us any US-made fuel efficient cars while Bush is president.

God bless him for killing all those terrorists (and breaking a few eggs) so we can have cheap gas for our gas guzzling SUVs. </rant> Blame Canada

TDI have alot of touque. HP for show and Tourque for go :)

The VWVortex had a week long look at TDI technology

Diesel engines have been proven in europe.

Europe mandated the use of low sulfur. So their diesel engines generate more HP/Torque.

Here in north america, low sulfur diesel will be mandated in 2007 see http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/ulsd/prefac e.html

Another advantage to diesel engines is that you can run different types of diesel.

1) Biodiesel. see http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs

2) 100% biomater Biomater can be Vegitible oil or processed animal fats(roadkill and stuff that can't be processed in meat production)

3) Diesel

In fact you can go to KFC and get your fuel there
Greasel sells conversion kits for diesels http://www.greasel.com/

Anywho... Checkout VW's diesel spec sheet http://www.vw.com/art/engines/complete_specs_TDI.p df and checkout the flash

I'm replacing my '96 Dodge Intrepid with a 2000 New Beetle TDI tomorrow. Have been doing my homework. I'm driving 85 miles round trip to work now, and need the mileage.

Intrepid: 26mpg, regular unleaded @ $1.59/gal

NB TDI: 50 mpg+, diesel @ $1.37/gal

Cost to drive to work:

Intrepid: $1351
NB TDI: $ 605
Annual savings: $746

With regular maintenance, this car should go 200K miles. I let someone else take the new car depreciation. Less than $12K for a fully loaded car in pristine condition. I'm getting the 5 speed. Hate automatics. Plus, the auto drops your mileage by 10%.

Bio Diesel requires that your source vegetable oils be converted to a useable fuel. Not quite as simple as just dumping a bottle of Crisco in the tank. You can run a mix of petro+bio diesel also. Check the biodiesel.org FAQ for more info.

www.biodiesel.org Try a diesel VW with this alternative fuel.

(Note: The highest-scoring vehicle was entered as a prototype, because it is a 1996 Passat which is no longer in production. The Passat was unmodified.)

Largest Sustainable Transportation Event Showcases Successes of Alternative Fuel Vehicles

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. â" Two winners of the Tour De Sol, a contest billed as the largest sustainable transportation event in the world, were fueled by American-made biodiesel â" a cleaner burning fuel made from renewable fats or vegetable oils such as soybean oil.

Sponsored by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association since it began 1989, the Tour de Sol is designed to highlight environmentally friendly vehicles that decrease petroleum use and therefore reduce pollution and improve public health. This year, the Tour De Solâ(TM)s three festivals, open house, and road-rally competition were held in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC during National Transportation Week, May 10-14.
For the first time, this yearâ(TM)s Tour de Sol road-rally competition was open to all "green" vehicles â" including alternative fuel vehicles. There were 21 categories for production and prototype vehicles including battery-electric, hybrid-electric, solar electric and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles or fuel cells using alternative fuels. The winners were honored for the greenest vehicles with good practical applications.

(more...)

http://einstein.unh.edu/~msbriggs/biodiesel/biodie sel_versus_hydrogen.htm

http://einstein.unh.edu/~msbriggs/biodiesel/cars_o n_different_fuels.htm

And not least, biodiesel cars throttle the competition! Biodiesel Fuels Tour de Sol Winners This is a fuel that I run in my 2001 VW today, is close to carbon-neutral, is truly renewable, and the diesel engine will likely last 300,000 mi or more with a timing belt change every 60,000 (2003 models last 100K between changes). The environmental impact (lack of) from these cars' low maintenance, simplicity and long life alone totally outclasses H2 cars along with their required monster-infrastructure.

I can easily get 700 mi on a tank while the best H2 designs can barely manage 180. What's more, I can use this TDI/biodisel combo for the next 20 years and probably still embarrass the 2023 H2 wondercar. The car that won the Tour de Sol was an unmodified midsize Passat with over 250,000 mi. on the odometer.

No, it's not a futuristic-sounding fuel cell, or a novel Stirling engine, has no Star Trek tie-in, uses green not blue solar panels (leaves), and may never get a Slashdot article for these reasons. But diesels and biodiesel fuel are exceptionally efficient, increasingly high-tech and getting moreso. Looking at the physical extremes in this new generation of 'clean diesels' I'd say the technology aspect is surpassing gas engines. Less complex, but higher-tech.

I wonder how H2 cars will look compared to a 99MPG Volkswagen Lupo (on sale in Europe)? VW did a round the world in 80 days promo tour with this vehicle, running on 100% biodiesel, and it wasn't even news when it came through the US. So maybe it won't be compared here at all. But that is not stopping a growing number of individuals, bus and truck fleets from running biodiesel.

that we should go with biodiesel and synthetic diesel fuels.

This is what is funny. There is all this outrage, and only a small handful of the poster live in Oregon. But it is JUST A TEST. The fact is - times are changing. Vehicle usage, vehicle type, fuel consumption - they all could be RADICALLY different in 20 years. But highways still will need to be maintained. Better to figure it out now - than have to scramble in the future. I think the GPS is a great system - IF they make careful use of not tracking privacy related things, AND they include wheel weight calculations in the tax rate. My 50mpg Volkswagen TDI Beetle running B20 Biodiesel does nowhere near the damage a Ford Excursion does - no matter how far I drive it... I agree. Just keep a close eye on it - because there are very serious risks involved. No one excep slashdot needs to know I go to the BoomBoom Room 3 times a week. Well, Slashdot and my credit card company. Well, Slashdot, my credit card company, and my priest...

1) Natural gas, not oil, is used in making commercial fertilizer.

This is an important point from the USA's point of view, since the vast majority of our natural gas comes from domestic sources and Canada.

2) Most natural fuel does NOT use more (fossil) fuel than it produces (in natural fuel).

Corn-based ethanol is the evil fuel you're speaking of. It is indeed a huge energy sink. The only reason it exists is because of huge government subsidies. Biodiesel, on the other hand, is 78% solar-powered. That is, only 22% of the energy in virgin soybean oil-derived biodiesel comes from fossil fuels.

Also consider that animal waste (pig crap) based methanol can be used in place of natural gas, thus completely removing fossil fuels from the biodiesel equation. However, this is not going to happen until one or both of the following happen:

1) consumers demand environmentally-friendly fuel by refusing to use fossil fuels

and/or

2) the demand for oil exceeds the easily-extractable supply of oil, thus raising the economic costs of extracting fossil fuel high enough to where bio-fuels can compete

Of these two alternatives, (2) is the most likely. Already, biodiesel can purchased for a little over $2/gallon in bulk, state fuel taxes included. I give it another 10 years before the increasing world energy demand outstrips its soon-to-peak supply.

As for myself, I drive a 2002 VW New Beetle TDI, which is in stock form (no fuel mods) and is powered by biodiesel. While the biodiesel is more expensive than regular diesel, the fuel economy of my vehicle is high enough (50 mpg) that I still enjoy fuel savings when compared to my gasoline-powered brethren.

Here are some interesting links:

Biodiesel Now

Biodiesel

TDI Club

Biodiesel is vegetable oil which has been through the process of transestrification, which strips the glycerin out of the oil, leaving a diesel-fuel-like substance which can be run in an unmodified diesel engine. here's more information. This article is about Greasel (the fuel), a slang term for vegetable oil which is being used as a fuel directly by using slight vehicle modifications with a kit such as Greasel (the kit).

In fact, a large amount of biodiesel is currently being produced both commercially and independently from both virgin oil and waste oil. biodiesel.org will help you find a pump near you. Biodiesel is not oversubsidized to the extent your petroleum fuels are, but even at its larger price ($2.77/gallon at my local pump) is gaining wide popularity. WVO (waste vegetable oil) powered vehicles are still in the domain of dorks like me and the Greasel guys.

Sarcasm aside, that farmer could use biodiesel, and the net energy production would still be positive. This together with the fact that not all of the plant can be used to produce oil shows that the net effect is that carbon is removed from the atmosphere. This in contrast to petrol, where we move carbon from a stable, deep in the earth buried state up into the atmosphere.

For a more complete analysis of biodiesel check out The Official Site of the National Biodiesel Board and in particular, their summary of a comparitive EPA report on Biodiesel Lifecycle. I have seen a better source, but I'm not finding it right now, so I'm hoping that will be enough argumentation to motivate you to do some research on your own.

Sarcasm aside, that farmer could use biodiesel, and the net energy production would still be positive. This together with the fact that not all of the plant can be used to produce oil shows that the net effect is that carbon is removed from the atmosphere. This in contrast to petrol, where we move carbon from a stable, deep in the earth buried state up into the atmosphere.

For a more complete analysis of biodiesel check out The Official Site of the National Biodiesel Board and in particular, their summary of a comparitive EPA report on Biodiesel Lifecycle. I have seen a better source, but I'm not finding it right now, so I'm hoping that will be enough argumentation to motivate you to do some research on your own.

This synthetic hydrocarbon fuel is different from biodiesel by two major things: no engine adjustments necessary to run on this fuel

No adjustments are required to run Biodiesel in any diesel engine made in the last decade or so. The problem is that Biodiesel can eat through some old types of rubber used in seals and fuel lines. Modern diesel engines do not use these types of rubber. Older engines could be retrofitted just by changing out old rubber lines, maybe needed anyway if the car is old enough! The only other thing is that biodiesel will dissolve engine deposits, since American diesel no. 2 is dirty, there can be a lot of deposits. If you have driven a while on regular diesel, biodiesel can lossen deposits, which can then clog fuel filters. Diesels have to replace the fuel filter pretty regularly - so it shouldn't be much of an issue.
Check out Biodiesel.org or BioDieselNow.com for more info.

Lots of Volkswagen TDI owners use Biodiesel.

To remain on topic - there is a plant near Salt Lake City, Utah that is doing something similar to this. Smithfield Foods Inc. will be making BioMethanol from pork waste.

Not to mention that diesel is just another petroleum product. The same limitations apply to diesel as do gasoline...

Ok the purpose of the article is if useing a hydrogen device will increase milliage on a standard engine. NOT PURE FUEL CELL CARS!

I have a few questions for all...
Why is the media and the greenies avoiding the topic of biodiesel? http://www.biodiesel.org/
Why do all alternative fuel vehicles have to be glorified golf carts? Whats the point in an electric car if the power source is a COAL power plant?

Just wondering...

• Biodiesel requires no diesel engine modifications to run
• The fuel infrastructure exists now. No modifications needed.
• Mass production is very feasible
• No net carbon dioxide emissions (if made with ethanol)
• Renewable
• For every 1 unit of energy used to make biodiesel 2.3 units are gained
• In a modern diesel engine (VW TDI for example) there are fewer toxic emissions than in a gas/electric hybrid (Toyota Prius for example).

biodiesel

I want everyone to do something, everyone thinking the Honda Hybrid is the way to go. Go take a look at the fuel mileage. Now, take a look at the VW TDI-based cars. Look at that fuel mileage. Verrrryyy interesting. It would seem... like diesel.... gets better mileage! On top of that, if BioDiesel is used, you have a renewable resource that is better for the environment, and gets great mileage, all in a car that lasts longer! (typically, most diesels get 300k mi before anyone bothers to worry... just look at European taxis). For all the guys into biodiesel, we know better than to think a hybrid is the only way to go in alternative fuel sources. You can't forget about diesels. BioDiesel can be made from fresh oils (such as rapeseed oil), or from waste vegetable oil (WVO), which, btw Diners & Restuarants pay to have removed from their property. Plus, your exhaust smells like french fries! How can you go wrong? Read more here.

I want everyone to do something, everyone thinking the Honda Hybrid is the way to go. Go take a look at the fuel mileage. Now, take a look at the VW TDI-based cars. Look at that fuel mileage. Verrrryyy interesting. It would seem... like diesel.... gets better mileage! On top of that, if BioDiesel is used, you have a renewable resource that is better for the environment, and gets great mileage, all in a car that lasts longer! (typically, most diesels get 300k mi before anyone bothers to worry... just look at European taxis). For all the guys into biodiesel, we know better than to think a hybrid is the only way to go in alternative fuel sources. You can't forget about diesels. BioDiesel can be made from fresh oils (such as rapeseed oil), or from waste vegetable oil (WVO), which, btw Diners & Restuarants pay to have removed from their property. Plus, your exhaust smells like french fries! How can you go wrong? Read more here.

There's a difference. Biodiesel is available today, and will run in all Diesel engines. It's clean and cheap: 1L of vegetable oil will make 900mL of Biodiesel. It's becoming even cheaper to manufacture as it comes into use, and with the rising price of oil, Biodiesel is approaching par with gasoline.

Take a look at the emissions here. Significantly cleaner than Diesel, which is cleaner than Gasoline anyway.

Biodiesel is definitely a much more viable and clean alternative to hydrogen fuel cells. It isn't quite as clean as H2 cells, but it's available now.

There's a difference. Biodiesel is available today, and will run in all Diesel engines. It's clean and cheap: 1L of vegetable oil will make 900mL of Biodiesel. It's becoming even cheaper to manufacture as it comes into use, and with the rising price of oil, Biodiesel is approaching par with gasoline.

Take a look at the emissions here. Significantly cleaner than Diesel, which is cleaner than Gasoline anyway.

Biodiesel is definitely a much more viable and clean alternative to hydrogen fuel cells. It isn't quite as clean as H2 cells, but it's available now.

See here, boy.

Hemp. Biodiesel from hemp.
One acre of hemp can produce 100 gallons of biodiesel, and you can get 3 crops per year from that acre. So 300 gallons per year from one acre of hemp.

Here's some more info: http://www.mohemp.org/hempcar.html

and more info on biodiesel can be found at: www.biodiesel.org